Conveyer



Aug. 8, 1939.

'J. cv PATERSON CONVEYER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOHN CURR/E PA TERSO/V Filed March 14, 1938 Aug. 8, 1939 Q PATERSQN 2,168,419

CONVEYER Filed March 14, 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR :10 NCURRlEP/ITER-SWA/ BY g 4% 30 tached biscuits forward so that they may be of an endless pervious band or wire mesh sup- 30 Patented Aug. 8, 1939 r UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE OONVEYEE John Currie Paterson, Peterborough, England, asslsnor to Baker Perkins Company Inc., Saginaw, Mich. a

Application March 14, 1938, Serial No. 195,741 In Great Britain March 25, 1937 10 Claims. .(Cl. ice-'20) This invention relates to .conveyers and is Figure 6 is a plan showing the application of especially applicable to endless band or travelling the invention to the transfer of biscuits from one surface or tray conveyors which may be convenconveyer to another arranged parallel thereto and iently hereinafter referred to under the general substantially in the same horizontal plane.

term conveyers. The invention is more par- In carrying the invention into effect accord- 5 ticula-rly concerned with the transporting or coning to one convenient mode as applied to the veyanceof biscuits, dough shapes and like articles, transfer of biscuits from a pervious endless band and will be descr'bed hereinafter for convenience conveyer such as the wires of a tray conveyer with reference to biscuits, although the invento a second receiving superposed conveyer, the

10 tion is not limited in this respect. receiving .conveyer I0 is of endless band form 10 An object of the invention is to provide imand has its receiving end Illa bent round a knife proved means. for removing biscuits from one edge H located in close proximity to but spaced conveyer and transferring them to another confrom the upper surface of the pervious dischargveyer or other suface. ing conveyer or wire? I! (Figure 3) which moves The invention consists .in removing biscuits through the path l3 (Figure 1), the arrangement 16 from one conveyer and transferring them to am being such that the upper lap of the receiving conother conveyer or surface by lifting the biscuits veyer In as it passes around the knife edge H from the first conveyer by an air blast and suptravels. at a suitable incline and has acomponent porting them thereby against the underside of of movement in the direction of that of the per- 20 a superposed travelling surface or conveyer vious biscuit conveyer l2.

adapted to deliver them tothe second conveyer In the plant illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the or other surface. biscuit conveyer is in the form of pervious baking According to one form an air-pervious endless trays or -wires" mounted upon an endless chain transfer conveye'r is mounted above discharge and conveyer the upper lap of which carries the receiving conveyers, and an 'air blast extending wires through the path l3 (Figure 1). '25 transversely of the conveyers is adapted to lift In the region-including the knife edge ll of the biscuits as they arrive at the upward current the receiving conveyer l0 andthat portion of the of air andhold them. against the under surface discharge. conveyer in front thereof, a. transfer of the transfer conveyer which carries the atconveyer II is mounted. This conveyer consists deposited upon the receiving conveyer. ported on a pair of rolls l5 and it over the region The invention may be employed in association referred to above. One or both of the rolls IS with and for the removal of biscuits from endand I 6 may be driven and a freely supported less pervious conveyers, such as those made of guide roller or deflecting bar I! is providedfor wire mesh, or for the removal of biscuits from the lower lap so that one portion Ida thereof is 35 pervious trays or wires carried. by chain or adapted to travel approximately parallel with other conveyors. Furthermore, the invention the discharging conveyer I! while anadjacent may be applied in connection with impervious portion Mb'trave s appro imately Parallel with eonveyers either by deflecting the conveyer-to the upper inclinedlap of the receiving con- 40 enable the air blast to act under the biscuits or veyer l0. 40 by directing the blast so that it is turned by en h he discharge onveyer l2 and on. the conveyer surface to afford a levitating action e ther Side Of t knife edge ll o t e v n upon the biscuits. conveyer III a pair of nozzles l8, I9 is provided. In the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings- Each nozzle is elongated to span the width of the Figures land 2 are elevation and planillusconveyer, or may comprise a plurality of small 4* trating the application of the invention in connozzles which are aligned transversely of the nection with awire tray conveyer, 1 conveyer. The nozzles are connected with a sup- Flgure 3 is a view to a larger scale of the biscuit ply of air under pressure so that a pair of elontransfer zone of the apparatus shown-in Figures gated air. blasts are directed upwardly through 1K and 2. the wire or other mesh of the discharge conveyer 5o Figure 4 is a view similar-to Figure 3 illustrating to lift or float the biscuits 'against the travelling the application of the invention to an endless lower lap of the transfer conveyer ll.

wire band conveyer, The nozzles may be arranged to spread thelii't Figure 5. is a side view showing the application ing air over a zone extending transversely and of the invention to an impervious conveyer, longitudinally and certain supplementary nozu r zles may be provided to maintain the biscuits against the transfer conveyer a short distance after they have passed vertically over the position of the knife edge II of the receiving conveyer. As

' the biscuits travel out of the zone of influence of Where no transverse bars or other masking elements are present, as for example where the discharge conveyer is in the form of an endless wire mesh band 4|, see Figure 4, a single nozzle 42 or row of nozzles directing the air, blast vertically may be provided. An adjustable flap (Figure 1) is provided for the purpose of adjusting or equalising the pressures in the nozzles I8 and I3.

The mounting for the transfer conveyer I4 may be adjustable so that the spacing interval between its lower lap and the associated discharging and receiving conveyers may be varied or adjusted and the knife edge'of the receiving conveyer may alsobe adjusted with respect to the discharging conveyer as regards height and longitudinally.

For this purpose the transfer conveyer I4 and the associated part of the receiving conveyer are carried by plates 2I and 22 which are pivotally mounted on the axis :c--a:. Adjustment of the transfer conveyer is effected by the screws 23 which are carried by brackets 24 fixed to the plates 2I and 22, the screws 23 bearing upon side frames 25 of the machine. The knife edge II is formed by or fixed upon a plate 26 which is pivotally mounted at 21 in the plates M and 22. Adjustment of the plate is effected by the provision of links 28 which are connected to the plate 23 and are provided with nuts 29 which bear upon suitable parts of the plates 2i and 22.

The receiving'conveyer i0 is driven in known manner by a roll not shown, upon the shaft of which a sprocket is mounted and from which a drive is imparted by a chain I25 to a'sprocket wheel I26 mounted upon a sleeve shaft'I21. A second sprocket wheel I28 on the. shaft I2! is coupled by a chain I28 to a sprocket I 30 on a shaft Ill. The shaft I3I carries a gear wheel I32 meshing with a gear wheel I33 by which the roll It for the transfer conveyer is driven. -At the other end of the roll I5 a sprocket wheel I is provided by which'the roll I6 of the transfer conveyer is driven through a chain I36. The tension of the transfer conveyer is'adjusted by a guide roll I which is vertically adjustable and bears upon the upper lap of the conveyer.

In both of the cases referred to above the knife edge l of the receiving conveyer Ill in'conjunction with the air blastoperates progressively to strip the biscuits from the pervious surface I2 or ll and transfer them to that of the receiving conveyer. I

In some cases it may be possible to eliminate the roll II andallow the lower lap of the transfreely as indicated in fer conveyerv I; to. hang Figure 4.

Where an alternative course is desired for the a pair of opposed knife edges 3|, 32 and arranged in a bight under a roller of large diameter or around two rollers 33, 34 so that a transverse slot 35 is formed in the conveying surface between the opposed knife edges. Below this slot an elongated nozzle 36 or a series of nozzles is located so as to afford an air blast adapted to lift biscuits as 'they proceed over the first knife edge and press them against a superposed transfer conveyer I4 which is adapted in turn to deposit the biscuits on a receiving conveyer I0 after the manner described above.

When it is desired that the biscuits should follow a rectilinear path upon the discharging conveyer 30, the supply of air to the nozzles 38 is cut out when the biscuits will be propelled by the travelling band of the discharge conveyer from one knife edge 3| to the other 32 over the air blast slot 35. If desired, instead of cutting out the air blast entirely its strength will be moderated so that it is just sufficient to assistthe biscuits in bridging the slot 35.

While the invention is more commonly applicable to conveyers in tandem the invention may be applied to cases in which the direction of travel is changed, or to the transference of biscuits from one conveyer to another which may be lying at the side of the first or discharging conveyer and parallel thereto or at an angle. For example, see Figure 6, assuming that it is desired to transfer, biscuits from a wire band conveyer 31 to another endless conveyer 38 lying parallel and to one side of the conveyer 31 an intermediate conveyer 39 is provided one end 39a of which is disposed over and at an angle to the conveyer 31 while the other end 3% lies at a corresponding angle over the second conveyer 38 to which the biscuits are to be transferred.

In front of the inclined edge 39a of the intermediate conveyer 39 and below the first conveyer an air blast no'zzle or slot 40 or a transverse series thereof is located at an angle corresponding with that of the intermediate conveyer 39. Associated with the air nozzle and extending over the adjacent end of the intermediate conveyer a wire mesh transfer conveyer 43 is mounted upon rolls 44 and 45 and driven by any suitable means. The air blast lifts the biscuits off the first conveyer 31 and holds them against the transfer conveyer 43 while they are carried thereby over the intermediate conveyer 39 and deposited thereupon. The intermediate conveyer discharges the biscuits according to known practice to the second conveyer 38.

While in'the forms described above the pervious conveying elements are formed of wire mesh ,it will be appreciated that any other suitable alr-pervious material may be employed.

Where in this specification the term air blast is used it is to be understood that such is not created by vacuum means but one from a superatmospheric pressure source.

I claiml. In the transporting of articles of the character described transferring the articles from one conveyer to another surface by lifting the articles from the first conveyer by an air blast and supporting them thereby against-the under side of a superposed travelling surface which delivers them to the second surface.

2. Means for transferring articles of the character described from one surface to another,

[comprising a discharge conveyer, a receiving conveyer, an air-pervious endless transfer conveyer mounted above the-discharge and receiving discharge conveyer to lift articles therefrom and hold them to the under surface of the transfer conveyer which carries them forward for deposit on the receiving conveyer.

4. Means for transferring articles of the character described from one conveyer surface to another, comprising a discharge conveyer of airpervious material, a receiving conveyer, a transfer conveyer of air-pervious material mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyers, a pair of nozzles mounted below said. discharge conveyer and inclined .towards one another, and means for supplying air under pressure through said nozzles whereby air blasts are directed upwardly through the discharge conveyer to lift the articles therefrom into contact with the travelling surface of the transfer conveyer from which they are deposited on' to the receiving conveyer when moved from the influence of the air blasts.

"5. Means for transferring articles of the character described from one conveyer surface to another, comprising a discharge conveyer, a receiving conveyer at an angle to said discharge conveye'r, an airepervious endless transfer conveyer mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyers, deflecting means associated with the lower lap of said transfer conveyer for guiding the lower lap into two portions substantially parallel to the discharge and receiving conveyors respectively, and air blast means for lifting articles from the discharge conveyer into contact with the. lower lap of the transfer conveyer which carries them forward out of the zone of saidair blast means for deposit upon the receiving conveyer.

6. Means for transferring articles of the character described from one conveyer surface to another, comprising a discharge conveyer of impervious material, a receiving conveyer, an airpervious endless transfer conveyer mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyers, means for deflecting a portion of the discharge conveyer, and air blast means operative adjacent the deflected portion of the discharge conveyer forlifting articles from the latter and holding them against the underside of the transfer conveyer which carries them forwardly for deposit on the receiving conveyer. Y 7. Means for transferring articles of the character described from one conveyer surface to another, comprising an impervious. discharge conveyer, a receiving conveyer, an air-pervious endless transfer conveyer mounted above the discharge and receiving conveygrs, a pair of opposed knife edges and a roller'arranged below said opposed knife edges, the impervious discharge conveyer being bent over the opposed knife edges and arranged in a bight under the said roller to form a transverse slot in said discharge conveyer, and air blast means operative through said transverse slot in the discharge conveyer for lifting articles from the latter and holding them against the under side of the transfer conveyer which carries them out of the zone of said air blast means for depositon the re-' ceiving conveyer.

8. Means for transferring articles of the'character described from one conveyer to another comprising, ,a discharge conveyer, a receiving conveyer. an,air-pervious endless transfer conveyer mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyors, said receiving conveyer and said transfer conveyer being arranged'at an angle to the discharge conveyer, air blast means for lifting articles from the discharge conveyer and holding them against the under surface of the transfer conveyer which carries them forwardly out of the zone of the airblast means for deposit on the receiving conveyer, and a second receiving conveyer arranged parallel to the discharge conveyer for receiving articles delivered from the first receiving conveyer.

9. Means for transferring articles of the char-' acter described from one conveyer to another,

comprising a discharge conveyer consisting of a series of air-pervious trays carried by chains. 9. receiving conveyer located above the discharge conveyer at an angle thereto, an endless airpervious transfer conveyer mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyers, deflecting means associated with the lower lap of said transfer conveyer to cause adjacent portions'thereof to travel substantially parallel to the discharge and receiving conveyers respectively, and air blast means comprising a pair of nozzles located below the discharge conveyer at an angle to one another and transversely of the discharge conveyer for lifting articles from the air-pervious trays into contact with the lower lap of the transfer conveyer which carries them over the receiv-- ing conveyer and out of the zone of the air blast means so that they are deposited on the receiving conveyer.

Means for transferring articles of the character described fromone conveyer surface to another, comprising a discharge conveyer, a receiving conveyer adjustably mounted above said discharge conveyer, an air-pervious transfer conveyer adjustably mounted above the discharge and receiving conveyers, and means creating an air blast across the width of the discharge conveyer for lifting articles from the discharge conveyer as they move into the air blast and holding them against the travelling under surface of the transfer conveyer which carries them out of the zone of the air blast for deposit on the receiving conveyer. 

